“[Jesus] said to His disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing’” (Luke 12:22-23).
Worry. We are pretty good at that. If there is anything that we, as humanity, can claim to be an expert on, well, that is certainly worrying. And worry is always focused inward, to self.
In fact, an entire industry is invested in our worry. It’s called the news. “We begin tonight with a crisis in America.” “Tonight, millions of Americans are in the path of severe storms.” “Tonight, millions of college graduates worry on how they will pay back their student loans.” Worry. As a former journalist, I know that is how the news pays its bills. They know that Americans are attracted to worry.
And other industries have caught on to what the news feeds us. Other industries notice this worry mentality. So, they promote “gold and silver as a hedge against inflation,” or food storage with 25 years of shelf life, just in case a nuclear bomb wipes out our food supply. Worry.
At once, they have us hooked on worry, there are so many people ready and willing to take advantage of whatever anxiety you and I may have.
Last week, you heard Jesus teach the Parable of the Rich Fool. In that parable, Jesus told of a man who was worried about his possessions. His money, his harvest, and the things money and abundant harvests could do for him were certainly at the top of his mind. He knew he had great riches, and he wanted to hold on to what he had. So, of course, he watched the news and its commercials, which convinced him in his worry to build bigger barns. His worry could only go away when he had all of his stuff in place, so then and only then, could he be finally content and say, “Soul, you have ample good laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry!” (Luke 12:19).
But that is not how the parable ends. It doesn’t end with him living in luxury with his gold and silver protecting him from inflation. It ends in the worry and dream stage. Before he could even tear down his old barns and build larger ones, God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Luke 12:20).
At the beginning of that parable, this man was a rich fool. By the end of the parable, he was a rich, dead fool. He laid up treasure for himself, but he was not rich toward God. He lacked faith in God providing for him. He focused inward, to himself. He lived by sight. He was anxious toward worldly things and possessions.
Now, most of us don’t have the problem of the rich fool. But we are often filled with worry, dread, and fear. We are often anxious. Now, you may not have stockpiles of crops and money with a worry about building bigger barns. But your focus may be more like Jesus’ disciples who instead worried about preserving what little they had. You see, with maybe besides Matthew, who was previously a tax collector, the disciples were not monetarily rich men. They often lived just day to day and sometimes from meal to meal. Even among the monetarily poor, that also creates anxiety. The question is often: will there be enough? Will there be enough money to get all the needed groceries this week? Will there be enough money to pay the utility bills this month? Will God really provide? How will God provide?
So, whether you may be monetarily rich or poor, or somewhere in the middle, anxiety is often our portion when we focus on earthly goods. That anxiety cuts us off from the heavenly Father. To this Jesus says, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Luke 12:25). It doesn’t. Undue worry often subtracts from life.
As Jesus journeys toward Jerusalem, He continues to teach. He teaches us to be His disciples. He teaches about the love and care of God our Father in heaven. He teaches us that our Father knows what we need and leads us to live by faith and not by sight.
Again, the rich man in last week’s parable is an example of someone whose barns and storehouses were filled to the brim and yet was not prepared for the future. The very opposite of the rich man are birds, and in particular, the raven. This scavenger is satisfied with leftovers and would not think of storing up food for the future.
For everyone who has a birdfeeder, or two, or three, when you watch the birds, you begin to realize that they do not store up those seeds. They come when they are hungry. They come trusting that seeds will be available to them.
The opposite are the squirrels. Squirrels are akin to the rich fool. They stuff their little faces as they sit upside down and then attempt to store those seeds for the winter months. But notice, it is not the rich man, nor squirrels, that Jesus calls His disciples to imitate, but the birds, the ravens. So, Jesus sets before us birds, and later, lilies, or really any flower. Jesus calls us to look deeply at these things that seem so ordinary and take to heart the care they receive from the heavenly Father.
The rich fool needed bigger barns and was anxious until they could be constructed. Birds do not sow and do not reap. They have no barns – including our barn since it has been repaired – and apparently do not suffer from anxiety. God provides for them. He feeds them. He cares for them.
The same goes for the lilies. They don’t toil or spin, yet they are clothed with more glory than Solomon himself. Jesus calls on us to focus on birds and flowers, because they don’t stress about the details of life.
But there’s a problem. We aren’t birds and we aren’t flowers. We sow and we reap. We toil and we spin. We often find ourselves running after food, drink, and clothing for fear of not having enough. So often, we find our sense of worth by the brand of clothing we wear, by the make and model of the vehicle you drive, by the neighborhood you live in. Our sense of worth often comes from financial security. Our self-esteem comes from the things we purchase. So often, because we seek after worldly things, we overwork, by becoming absorbed in our work, so that you can afford your lifestyle. To this, Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34).
When we find ourselves caught up in the fear of not having enough, by looking to our money, our possessions, our work to give us the things we need, we will eventually become pagans, unbelievers, as we turn that money and those possessions into your false god of comfort. Jesus reminds us, “Do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them” (Luke 12:29-30).
You see, God the Father knows our needs. He cares for you. He provides all that we need for both your body and your soul.
A couple of weeks ago, Jesus was asked in the Gospel lesson by one of His disciples how to pray, so He taught His disciples the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:1-13). In that prayer, Jesus gave them and us the Fourth Petition: “Give us this day our daily bread.”
In that petition, Jesus teaches us that God the Father created us and is watching over this world, as He always cares for it. He provides daily bread through food and drink, clothing and shoes, money and goods, a devout husband or wife, through good government and good employment. He provides.
Now, this doesn’t mean that we just have to sit back and do nothing. God works through means. But He certainly provides when we seek Him and His kingdom.
Now, back when I was a freshman in college, I was in a class that was known to weed out students. In this class, we had one assignment: a 90-page research paper. To pass the class, it had to be at minimum 90 pages. Thankfully, for me, the footnotes counted. As the class progressed, the professor would see how far along each student was in completing the assignment. Some were honest, others were not. As the final week approached, I felt pretty good. I had met each deadline. I was pretty relaxed. That was not the case for most of my class. A good majority pulled all-nighters in getting their paper complete. My point is this. First, I had faith that Jesus would lead me to finish my paper on time. Secondly, I had to actually do the work. This also goes with all those other things that cause anxiety. We must have faith that God provides, and we must trust in Him as He leads us to Him providing through a homework assignment, paying a bill, or anything.
Thanks be to God that He does not work from a distance. Though we often pull ourselves away from God the Father, He continues to show His love for us through His only begotten-Son Jesus Christ. He sent Jesus to shepherd His flock by gathering us back to Him as He laid down His life for us, His sheep, and rising up again, so that He could give us His kingdom. And long before we could even have the idea to seek the kingdom of God, the Triune God sought us and gave us His kingdom and all by His grace through faith in Him. In Baptism, the kingdom was given to you, and in His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacraments – He provides us with all we need to remain His dear children.
Now, throughout the ages, there has been a misunderstanding about these words of Jesus. One of those famous men who misunderstood today’s text was St. Francis of Assisi, who lived a life of total poverty.
St. Francis did many things well, but this wasn’t one of them. So, we need to read these words of Jesus in the context of God’s total revelation. Jesus, here, is saying what we must hear and hear often. He is calling on His disciples to distance themselves from the attitude of the world that glorifies this earthly life and its possessions. Our attitude ought to always remember that the end is coming, so our priority in life must be to be rich toward God. This means we are called to seek the treasure of the kingdom.
And guess what? He provides adequate earthly treasure to sustain us and for us. In Christ, He provides eternal heavenly treasures, as He washed us through Holy Baptism and feeds us with His Body and Blood in the Supper and tends us with the guidance of His Word.
Our value does not come from what we have, but from what God has done for us. Our money and possessions will wither and fade away, but our treasure – our real treasure – is secure. So, walk by faith and not by sight in the way that leads to eternal life. Amen!
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
